Lex Fridman Podcast

#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing

May 14, 2021

Po-Shen Loh, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and coach for the USA International Math Olympiad team, dives into the captivating world of mathematics. He discusses its role in contemporary issues like contact tracing during pandemics, emphasizing privacy concerns. Loh also highlights innovative teaching methods that inspire creativity in problem-solving over rote memorization. Furthermore, he shares insights on the intricacies of mathematical competitions and the philosophical aspects of mathematical truths, blending humor with complex concepts like the P vs NP problem.

02:27:20

Creator website

Episode guests

Po-Shen Loh

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Would the Distributors Make All the Difference in the World?

00:46

Intro

2min

Balancing Mind and Body

5min

The Marvel of Electrolytes and Human Innovation

2min

Innovations in Engineering and Mathematics

14min

Innovative Disease Control Through Network Theory

22min

Mathematics and Collaboration in Pandemic Management

14min

Networks of Knowledge and Innovation

13min

The Art of Mathematical Competition

13min

Exploring Mathematics and Intelligence Beyond Humanity

14min

10.

Mathematics through Problem-Solving

14min

11.

Understanding Comparative Scoring and Expected Values in Mathematics

2min

12.

Optimizing Voting Systems

16min

13.

The Humorous Probability of P vs NP

3min

14.

Navigating Intuition and Impact

8min

15.

The Legacy of Ideas: Inspiration and Immortality in Thought

4min

Po-Shen Loh is a mathematician at CMU and coach of the USA International Math Olympiad team. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Po’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/poshenloh
Po’s Website: https://www.poshenloh.com/
Daily Challenges: https://daily.poshenloh.com/
NOVID: https://www.novid.org/

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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(08:51) – Planes and bridges
(12:28) – Writing a computer game from scratch
(14:54) – Programming competitions
(18:28) – Math is hard
(23:59) – Contact tracing that preserves privacy
(1:01:16) – Math Olympiad
(1:16:57) – Hard math problem
(1:24:14) – Is math discovered or invented?
(1:29:09) – Intelligence
(1:35:59) – Math education
(1:40:10) – How to learn math
(1:49:06) – Combinatorics
(1:52:13) – Voting trees
(2:02:36) – Stochastic coalescence
(2:12:23) – P=NP
(2:16:39) – Tolkien and WWII
(2:19:00) – Advice for young people
(2:21:05) – Meaning of life

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